Abundance of Joy

01/01/2024

Happy 2024!

12/25/2023

🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

12/24/2023

When you find peace in Jesus, you realize peace isn’t about the absence of chaos but instead the presence of God.

12/21/2023

12/19/2023

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭9‬:‭6‬ ‭

12/19/2023

Memory verse of the week 🤍

12/17/2023

Soul Care: Finding the Joy

While self-care is also important, soul-care is where we need to start. There is nothing wrong with spending a day getting pedicures with our friends, enjoying coffee dates or an extra long bubble bath. Most of us need these moments to reset our busy lives and allow time to ourselves for things that bring us happiness. But when putting your focus into self-care, you will only feel happiness in that current moment and time, never fully feeling cared for. Only in Jesus, can we feel completely cared for because he brings joy to our lives. Happiness is circumstantial and fully dependent upon your circumstances, while joy is a lifestyle. Self care brings us closer to ourselves compared to soul care which will bring us closer to God. We all have unique callings on our lives and in order to do them well we need to come to a place of where Jesus is.

What moments in time and places in your life remind you of our Creator? Is it when you see a sunset, the beach, a newborn baby, the rain, or something different. Resting in these moments are crucial to soul care. Fully experiencing the presence of God and allowing Him to be in control of your life. Soul care is anything that reminds you of God. The world wants to decide what we need to do in times of heartache but that’s when it’s most important that we set our eyes back on God. Daily routines need to include activities that remind us of our Father. Calling friends to talk about your life and praying over circumstances is a form of soul care.

When Jesus was tired, he went to where he found God. He was depleted and defeated but he hiked up the mountain to where he saw his Father. Jesus could have prayed anywhere and talked to God but he went to where he found solitude and silence. He needed the rest to refill his soul. He wanted to see the beauty of God’s creation and look at things that reminded him of his Father.

Soul care is filling our souls with the Holy Spirit so we can be ready for times of weakness. Even a fully cared for soul will still have to deal with weariness, but will be able to walk through it with joy.

What practices will you add into your daily routine to make sure your soul is fully cared for? Let me know in the comments or you can always start with some of the examples below.

*Daily morning prayers thanking God for his mercy and grace.
*Find beauty in his creation and meet his presence there.
*Trust and obey him by surrendering your life over to him.
*Read scripture daily and ask God what he wants you to see in his word.
*Fellowship with other believers in prayer and bible study.

12/13/2023

Have you starting thinking about your Word of the Year?

With the end of the year approaching, my friends and social media have already began discussing their plans, budgets and even resolutions for 2024. New Year resolutions were always a topic of discussion in our house around the holidays, and not only for the adults but our children too. Making lists and promises that we were going to be the best version of ourselves in the following year. Unfortunately, most of those resolutions were already forgotten by February, along with the hopes of the “New Year, New Me”.

Beginning in 2020, we removed the word resolution from our plans and started focusing on a Word of the Year. Shifting our mindset from a resolution: a decision to do or not to do something, into a resolve: a firm determination to do something. Resolve in an ongoing action with a fixed purpose. Not everyone has resolve but a resolution can be made by anyone.

Once you get the determination to change and improve yourself, you need to determine in what way God is wanting to speak into your life in the new year. A word of the year is not necessarily determined by a weakness in our life, but instead where are we wanting to go with God. Our life is a love letter we are writing to our Creator and not a to do list he has given us. We should constantly be pursing His beauty. Through prayer and scripture He will gives us words as a guide to get us where we need to be with Him. When we ask God to give us a word of the year, it can take time. He may immediately give you a nudge towards an area in your life that He is wanting you to work on and improve. Or it may take several days and weeks of reading scripture and time in prayer. Not everyone will receive a single word, you may instead receive a phrase from God. We should be praying that He brings us in to help Him in what He is already doing in our lives and where he plans to bring us over the next year. God wants to speak into our lives, He cares about every detail. When determining our new word of the year, it’s important to navigate if the word is from God or if the word is our own agenda.

When we start implementing our new God given word into our lives, it’s important that we are praying for ourselves and for Gods will. Finding scriptures, songs and prayers that include our word will be helpful in our journey. Cultivating ourselves into this new way of life will take time and we will mess up but Gods grace will cover us. Helping carry each others burdens is part of Gods will. Find others who you can cover in prayer and who will cover you. Someone who will hold you accountable but without blame and shame. And instead use love to strengthen your resolve.

Happy ALMOST New Year!! It's time to start praying for 2024.
-Latrese

https://abundanceofjoyky.wordpress.com/2023/12/13/word-of-the-year-2024/

11/29/2023

Kids shirt- Jesus is the Reason $15
Tshirts $12
Comment below size and design